Move Boldly Forward with Mars By Lisa De La O Wyman
Spring is here! We may have some rain, but the wisteria is blooming and the squirrels have an extra skip in their step. The refreshment of this glorious season is in the air. Since ancient times, spring has represented a renewal of life, a return to birth and blossom after the long, cold spell of winter. We welcome it in with the sign of Aries, cardinal fire energy of initiation. It’s time to plant some seeds, water them with our optimism and action, and see what we can grow. So much of this is fueled by the ruling planet of Aries, the mighty and virile Mars. Mars brings in a disruptive burst of creative energy – it’s ready to start something, and there’s a great deal of ambition and excitement to back it up. As it expresses itself in Aries, it’s the spirit of the pioneer, breaking new ground and exploring new terrain. Yet Mars is also destruction, symbolized by its classical rulership of the fixed water sign Scorpio. Here Mars is a death-bringer, breaking down and removing so that the energy can transform and be reborn in a new form. How is Mars showing up in your life right now? Where do tensions, sudden endings, or feelings of anger hint at a deeper need for foundational change and renewal?
Mars is a decidedly masculine energy, linear and penetrating in its expression. It is the drive to war, of pursuit and aggression, as well as to engender. It seeds new life. In fact, the glyph of Mars looks like a shield and spear, as well as an erect phallus. This forceful vitality can either break down or build up. Themes of conflict, competition, removal, corrective action through violence, and exertion of energy all speak of Mars. However, the battles that Mars may bring are often internal, and by facing the inner foe we find our courage and previously untapped fortitude.
Mars rules both the vernal Aries and the autumnal Scorpio, anchoring the year with cycles of conception and death. These sanctifications of fire and water create the conditions for varying kinds of transformation. It’s the difference between eros and thanatos, the will to live versus the will to die. Aries surges with fiery willpower while Scorpio slithers through the waters of desire. Aries is the inflamed warrior charging forward bravely with his sword, while Scorpio is a precise surgeon nimbly administering a potent needle injection. Aries will vigorously slash through obstacles while Scorpio silently probes a specific target. Both also carry great sexual energy, but one embodies the pursuit while the other brings the climax (la petite mort or “little death”).
We see these varying expressions most keenly in The Emperor (Aries) and Death (Scorpio). The former is a pioneer, seeking new terrain upon which to build and rule. The importance of individual identity is lauded, as well as the confidence and determination needed to lead. Death is the alchemical process of sacrifice, loss, and rebirth. That which is destroyed inevitably transforms. The Tower, the card of Mars, represents both with its emphasis on disruption in service of renewal. It holds this seeming opposition in an eternal dance that is the engine of existence.
Mars is the fourth planet from Earth. Considered potentially inhabitable, it is terrestrial and experiences frequent seismic activity. Covered by a thin layer of iron dust, it is the red planet, a color often associated with the mythological Mars, blood, inflammation, and anger.
It is named after the Roman god of war, agriculture, leadership, and the regeneration of spring. This version was initially inspired by the Greek god of war, Ares. The latter, however, is associated more plainly with the sexual urge, aggression, violence, and destruction for its own sake. As paramour to Aphrodite, goddess of love, Ares provided the counterpart to her energies of sensuality, connection, harmony, and beauty. Indeed, Earth is poised between the planets of Mars and Venus, an uncanny reflection of our inner conflicts. One of their children, named Harmonia, represents the synthesis between the two, and what we continue to strive for despite our opposing appetites. Another child, Eros, embodies his father’s unyielding desire with his mother’s lush, magnetic affections.
Mars, as expressed through the Aries card of The Emperor, is the spark of creation and the beginning of an adventure. It is self-actualization through action, defining one’s independence through ambitious expression.
The Emperor card is sometimes called “the great architect” because they are holding the plans for the enterprise within and it gives them a sense of direction, like a compass. They see the path and are unafraid to forge ahead without knowing what they will encounter along the way. They are also a leader that can bear the responsibility for what they create so long as their values are benevolent. The Emperor reminds us that our goals need to be empowered by something greater than the desire for power. A good leader uses their strength to also provide something that can benefit others. What is the spark at the center of your ambition? Does your goal have the potential for a life beyond your own needs? Is this an ego stroke or enlightened leadership? The entrepreneurial spirit must be animated by a vision that includes all – how does what you’re doing affect others? Does it make you a force for good in the world? Is what you’re trying to create beneficial or are you birthing monsters?
In the Scorpio-ruled Death, there is transformation. The classical ruler Mars and modern Pluto play out the process of endings and beginnings, and the mysterious underworlds you traverse along the way.
Scorpio exemplifies an intense energy that sustains even while it deconstructs. There are extremes of emotion, endings, and alchemical changes that both break down and engender something new. It is a journey through the three stages of the sign – scorpion, snake, and eagle. While the scorpion is a desert creature, its most infamous feature is its watery poison contained in the stinger – a veritable womb of death. Yet Scorpionic energy is incomplete without the impulse towards rebirth. Regeneration is intrinsic to its watery nature as it flows from one extreme to another – from delirious pleasure to heartbreaking loss, cruel vengefulness to the healing balm of forgiveness, and ultimately, from death to new life. Your life consists of many cycles, each one requiring a death so that another may begin. The Death card invites you to see how natural, inevitable, and beautiful this is and to make peace with and work with the rhythms. Being alive is sometimes painful, often exhilarating, but dammit you are ALIVE! It’s a wild ride, and it will end . . . and begin again in another form. You will never end. The impulse to BE surges in us all. Allow yourself to move through these cycles. Resisting them only prolongs suffering.
The Tower is the card of Mars in the Tarot. Also called the house of God, the Tower brings with it energies of disruption. It is the destruction of the ego which leads to the insemination of a new identity. It can feel like getting burned down to your foundations, leaving nothing but charred earth in its wake. You sit there naked, alone, probably disoriented, and perhaps even broken. The baptismal fire of enlightenment has touched you and nothing will be the same.
It can feel like everything is in ruins, but razing the ground clears it for new growth. On some fundamental level, you must start over, replant, and create again. It is most helpful to see this as an opportunity. You have a blank slate, a fresh start. What will you do with it? Mars may have blown things up but it can also help you rebuild with renewed vitality. As authors T. Susan Chang and M.M. Meleen state, “the purpose of Mars is to destroy outdated aspects of the self, so that more evolved elements of selfhood can arise.” Choose to let the ashes feed the soil of your next harvest. It’s never really over - you are always becoming. Embrace it.
We also find Mars exerting its force through a handful of other zodiacal cards:
In the Two of Wands (Mars in Aries), there is raw ambition, and the spirit of the maverick pursues adventure. There’s a great deal of Martial energy in this card in the form of a creator - an impatience and drive to seed, conquer obstacles, encounter excitement, and stake claim to something. In its less evolved expression, this can show up as brute force, harsh and dominating tendencies, and quickness to anger or violence for the sake of “winning”. However, it can also be the heady rush of sexual desire, a burst of intense creative inspiration, or the hearty motivation needed to fuel a meaningful goal. How are you using this onrush of heated energy – to create or destroy?
The Three of Pentacles (Mars in Capricorn) is in production mode. Ambition is propelling the action, with the desire to get some work done. Disciplined Capricorn pairs nicely with Mars’ call to action - things are happening and new structures are getting built. It’s the drive that takes an idea from theory to something that exists in material reality. Creativity is focused on quantifiable matters and can push beyond the constrictions of Capricorn’s Saturnine rulership. What seemed impossible is now real, and it’s here!
The heaviness of Five of Cups (Mars in Scorpio) bears us down with the grief of loss. Like the Two of Wands, there’s a lot of Mars in this card, but as the destroyer. Emotional disappointment and pain live here, and the Scorpionic water expresses the falling of tears. We had something that meant a great deal to us, and we lost it. This is the sacrifice of death and the end of a cycle. We are purged of something and experience the anguish and disorientation of significant change. The best thing to do is feel the emotions – what are they telling you? What you discover can help you move forward when rebirth eventually comes. Until then, allow yourself to fully process the energies involved. From the ashes, you will rise again, but the burning away must be complete for the Martial fire to fully cleanse and transform.
The Seven of Wands (Mars in Leo) tests our courage. We have worked hard and gained something of value but now feel threatened. Could we lose it all, or will someone try and take it away? The moment of glory and achievement is caving into a stance of defensiveness. It’s time to protect and defend because you care so deeply. Leo governs the heart and spine, and this is where our passion and backbone play key roles. Can you stand strong for what you love and value? There can sometimes be a bit of paranoia here, the fear of loss after getting to a better position, but mainly it asks us if our heart is in the goal we are pursuing and if we care enough to face adversity to protect it. This is where our strength under stress can be tested.
With the Nine of Swords (Mars in Gemini), fiery Mars is given a bit too much oxygen in this air sign. Despair, anxiety, and harsh thoughts and words can spread like wildfire. Mars enjoys being cruel here. This is where your inner monologue gets critical and nasty, finding fault and impending doom at every turn. You lay awake at night judging recent actions, or looking ahead to a terrifying future, and can even fall into the grayness of depression. The mind feels like a dangerous place, and sometimes communication with others can turn ugly. How can you reclaim power over your mental state by altering its expression? Thoughts change through deliberate effort. We can re-route those neural pathways to tell a different story, and we get better with practice. Utilize Mars’ creative force to initiate new narratives so the old ones don’t destroy your peace.
In Ten of Cups (Mars in Pisces), Mars acts as both creator and destroyer in a decadent and complex dance with the watery sign of dissolution. Pisces brings us to the end of the zodiacal year, bathing us in the boundaryless sea of the collective unconscious. We have been transformed and carry a vision of spiritual unity and cosmic bliss. Yet Aries season is close behind, ready to initiate another cycle by breaking through this dream with an urgent burst of new life. This strange, intoxicating blend of opposing energies can feel like a wild last hoorah, where appetites get sated and fantasies indulged. There’s a clinging to momentary satisfaction, but it’s impermanent. We’re trying to hang on to a peak experience or maintain a state of what feels like perfection. We can delude ourselves into believing it will last forever. Like a rainbow, experiences of transcendent beauty or emotional ecstasy are temporary. They bless us with their presence and fade. This card often shows up for those who are attached to the idea of a “fairy tale” romance, a love that is always romantic and happy and requires no effort or struggle. We can feel this way at times, but it is not the substance of real life. Mars happily comes along to remind us that life is change, strife, unexpected shifts, and new beginnings. Accepting this constant flux and flow can help us appreciate those rare moments of bliss as they come rather than gripping on with white-knuckled desperation.
Proactively lean into the vital energy of Mars this season by getting physically active, exploring creative impulses, and honestly assessing where change or release is needed. You have the opportunity to renew and embolden your journey by saying yes to the dynamic energies of life. Move with them, use them as fuel, and let them impassion your relationships and actions. Make Mars your friend rather than a feared villain. Find new ways to work with what it’s bringing you and initiate new beginnings that will reap glorious fruits in the coming days of luscious Taurus. You are powerful in ways you’ve yet to discover. It’s time to boldly forge ahead!
Lisa De La O Wyman is a Tarot reader and writer based in Redondo Beach. At Tarot for Empowerment, she works with individual clients, private parties, and special events. Through her work, she seeks to connect people with their innate power as well as encounter the mystery in everyday life. She can be reached via Instagram and Facebook at @tarotforempowerment, email at info@tarotforempowerment.com, and website www.tarotforempowerment.com.
